Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Lately I have become more aware of where items are made. Generally speaking, China has the market on pretty much EVERYTHING! It's extremely difficult to find things that are not made there.

Today while folding the laundry, I noticed that one of my husband's shirts that has a "USA" logo on the front was made in Pakistan of all places! How crazy is that? I wonder if the person who made the shirt silently cursed it as well. It angers me that so many of our goods are from other countries. If and when I do find items that are made in the USA, they are considerably higher priced. That's why China has the market! We shop according to our pocket books - we really have no choice. At least not the average, middle-classed, working American anyway.

I have been trying to stay away from the foreign made products as much as possible. I was pleased to find a few clothing articles made in the USA the other day at Kohl's. I found some socks (Vera Wang brand - though most of her stuff is not made in the USA) and underwear (Jockey brand). Stein Mart and Dress Barn also offer tops and dresses that are USA made. My best friend sells Premier Jewelry and ALL of it is American made. So, it's not completely impossible, just extremely challenging. I bought baby clothes for my cousin's first baby at Posh Mommy. They were about twice the cost of the everything else, though. I really have to remind myself concerning the cost that it has to be worth it to support our own. If nobody buys USA brand items, then it's only going to get worse. Now more than ever I think we need to sacrifice when we can to support our country and her workers. Maybe I'm naive, maybe I'm silly, but I am an AMERICAN and I want to help however I can.

As a side note, back in the day, my grandparents and even my mom, worked in a cotton mill. It was called Merrimack Mill and later changed to Huntsville Manufactoring Co. I remember them coming home with cotton on them from head to toe. They always looked so tired, too. We lived right across the street from the mill. I wrote a poem about memories of living in Granny's house and shared it here. I found this interesting article about Merrimack providing cotton overseas (it's very short).

I also wanted to share this link with you. It gives information on different companies with American-made products. Support the USA whenever you are able and God bless America!

Monday, March 8, 2010

OK, I've tried not to talk about the obvious, but I can't help myself any longer. Have you noticed the increase in earthquakes lately? Now I know that earthquakes happen pretty much every day, but I'm talking about these rather LARGE and STRONG earthquakes. Haiti, Japan, Chile, and now Turkey, just in the last few months. There were even smaller ones in Oklahoma and Illinois! How crazy is that? Here is a link about earthquakes in history.

My husband told me after the Chile earthquake that one of his co-workers commented, "What's up with all these earthquakes?". Dwight replied, "Haven't you read the Book?" After a pause and then realization, he said, "Oh yeah! Where is that found, anyway?" "Matthew 24", Dwight told him.

Off and on I check out this website to have a look at the earthquakes world wide. I find it interesting, and hopeful. Yes, I said "hopeful". I can NOT wait for the return of my Lord, and He said earthquakes are a sign that we should look for before His return! Get your Bible and read Matthew 24. If you don't have a Bible, but have internet access (which you obviously do if you're reading this), then click on the links I've provided, that takes you to biblegateway.com.